Saving Great Wood

By James Ravine, Head of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications

We are delighted to announce the creation of a new nature reserve, Great Wood, one of the few remaining large ancient woodlands in Wiltshire, extending to 175 acres near Lyneham.

Ancient woodland now covers just 2.5% of the country. As one of the 20 largest ancient woodlands in the county, protecting Great Wood for nature will bring huge benefits to both wildlife and people once restored.

Great Wood includes probably the largest collection of wild service trees in the country, as well as fantastic stands of oak, with some trees probably more than 200 years old, making it nationally important for conservation.

What happens next?

This long-term project will restore Great Wood to its former glory. Large swathes of conifers, which currently cover a third of the woodland and do not support much wildlife, will gradually be replaced with a mix of native broadleaf trees.

We will create more space for the rare wild service trees to flourish. With the help of volunteers, we will create glades, widen paths, coppice trees and remove invasive plants to improve the health of the woodland by encouraging fresh growth and providing more woodland marginal habitat. A much more diverse understorey of plants will spring back; more light reaching the woodland floor will enable huge carpets of bluebells to bloom again.

Ponds in woodlands provide homes to a huge variety of wildlife. With droughts becoming more common, ponds will be key in increasing resilience to climate change, helping sustain Great Wood’s bird, mammal, amphibian and insect residents. We will restore Great Wood’s existing large pond, which has become overgrown and too acidic due to conifer needle fall, and create a second. The Great Crested Newt population will grow and a host of dragonflies will dart across the ponds.

Many more bird and butterfly species used to be found at Great Wood. The more diverse habitat will attract back beautiful birds such as nightingale and willow warbler and butterflies including the purple emperor and pearl-bordered fritillary. Sadly, the dainty wood white butterfly, which once thrived in Great Wood, has been absent from Wiltshire for many years; our surveying and habitat improvement will help us reintroduce this rare species to the woodland.

Nightingale

Amy Lewis

A step in the right direction

Landscape-scale nature recovery is key to achieving our goal of 30% of Wiltshire managed for nature by 2030, double the current level. Acquiring Great

Wood is a big step towards the target of doubling our own land managed for nature by 2030, but the project goes much further than the boundaries of Great Wood. The reserve is part of the Braydon Forest area and close to two other Wiltshire Wildlife Trust woodland nature reserves. We will work closely with local farmers and other landowners to connect Great Wood to other nearby ancient woodlands and hedgerows as part of a wider nature recovery network.

Community engagement

Establishing a programme of education, wellbeing and engagement activities is another exciting part of this project. There are no public rights of way in Great Wood and we can control access, making it a rare resource for education and vulnerable groups to relax and learn. From the new Natural History GCSE, to forest school, guided walks and eco-therapy, we will provide a host of engaging activities. There will also be plenty of opportunities for our members and the local community to visit the woodland through volunteering and guided walks and events.

Help us restore Great Wood

We thank our long-term supporter Biffa Award, who provided most of the funding for this project through the Landfill Communities Fund, as well as other generous funders and those who have already donated to our appeal. Thank you so much!

With your help, our Great Wood appeal has so far raised over £70,000! We're nearly there, but we urgently need more support, as we have only nine months to complete the initial restoration project.

A £50 donation could pay for five native trees, which we would plant and look after, or could help us create habitat for rare butterflies such as the purple emperor. Can you help us reach our £120,000 target to secure Great Wood's future?

Please donate to our Great Wood appeal at: www.wiltshirewildlife.org/great-wood-appeal

Purple emperor butterfly

Erik-Karits